Fleeting Thoughts on Mothers' Day
by Prairie24andMoochiecat2009
Summary: Our favorite CSIs celebrate Mothers'Day. There were requests for a sequel to find out what happens with Gil and Sara, so here it is. Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Moochie and Prairie do not own CSI. Boo-hoo!

Fleeting Thoughts on Mothers' Day

Just a few little Moms' Day drabbles from Moochiecat (with the very last paragraph by Prairie). Rated "G."

Catherine Willows yawned, opened one eye to see her daughter, Lindsey, laughing and dangling the end of a ribbon from a "Happy Mothers' Day" balloon against Cat's nose. "Come on, Mom, wakie, wakie. Grandma and I are already drooling over having the Mom's Day buffet at the new Rampart."

Cat half snorted, half laughed and acquiesced. "Okay, okay. Get off me, Linds. Tell your Grandma I'll be ready in 10 minutes."

Lindsey smiled and leaned over her Mom. "Hey. Mom, don't forget that I love you, OK?" Then Linds bolted from the room. Cat shook her head, but had tears in her eyes.

Ray Langston spent Mothers' Day morning at his Church, helping out at the Mothers' Day Breakfast. It reminded him of all the times he'd helped out at similar Mothers' Day breakfasts in his childhood and teenage years. He could just hear his Mom saying, "Ray, get your lazy bones back here and get more flapjacks out front!" It made Ray feel like a little bit of his Mother was still with him. (Okay, an aside, I grew up with flapjacks, a term learned from my Texan-born Dad-the rest of you call them pancakes. And I spent many a Moms' Day morning serving them at our Church, LOL!)

Nick Stokes called his Mom for Mothers' Day. She, as always, asked if there was anyone he was dating. For the last two years, the answer had been, "No". Nick was beginning to understand Gil Grissom. And that scared the heck out of him. Everything seemed to be work, work, and only, work. After ending the call, Nick phoned Greg and Sara and asked if they might want to go see a movie and catch a simple, early dinner. Both were delighted to accept.

Greg Sanders called his Mom in Minnesota. She spent the entire phone call making him feel like he was "chopped liver." She ranted about how dangerous his job was, how the Lab had never compensated him for when he was blown up, and then when he was half-beaten to death. Then she moaned about the fact he wasn't married and there weren't any grandkids and when did he think that might change? And why couldn't he move home so he could be the support his parents needed? And for the first time in his life, Greg Sanders hung up on his Mom and in answer to the next call he received, agreed to see a movie with Sara and Nick and have a nice, simple, dinner with dear friends.

Sara had spoken with Gil the evening before. She wasn't a Mom, and though she and Gil were leaving it up to Providence, she didn't really think she'd ever be lucky enough to become pregnant. She and Gil had already agreed that neither of them were willing to go to the extremes. Gil didn't want Sara taking drugs that might result in a large multiple birth, as no one really seemed to have a grasp on what the long term effects of those drugs might be. So, they wouldn't do anything to not have children, but they weren't going to haunt fertility clinics either. It would be, or it would not be. And that was just fine with both of them. (And she was a "doggie Mom to Hank." That sort of counts, doesn't it, LOL!) After Nick's call, Sara looked forward to seeing a movie with her oldest friends, and having a nice (vegetarian) dinner with her friends. Then, she had a thought…

When Sara got through with her "thought," she, Nick, Greg, Ray, Cat; Lily; Linds; Vartaan; Jim Brass; Dave H; Wendy; SuperDave and wife; Doc Robbins and Judy; Henry; Bobby; Mandy, and what the heck, even Ecklie, were all seated in the VIP section of the new Rampart's finest restaurant. (Thanks, Cat!) They pretty much ate themselves silly at the Moms' Day Buffet. (Tons of vegetarian selections for Sara)! None of them missed seeing a movie. But, "A good time was had by all, LOL!"

Across the ocean, Gil Grissom sat alone in a rented flat gazing at a picture of Sara as stars twinkled outside. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her face and sighed. Today had been Mothers' Day; he knew Sara often struggled with the day because of circumstances with her own mother. Then his thoughts strayed in another direction. He imagined Sara as a mother, holding their baby in her arms, her eyes soft and dreamy as she stared down at their little one. A sigh escaped his lips and he put the picture back in its place on his nightstand. How was she going to get pregnant if they had an ocean between them? Gil got to his feet and began packing his bags, determined that the next Mothers' Day would be different.

A Very Happy Mothers' Day to all the Moms on the CSI site!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: CSI, Gil, and Sara don't belong to Prairie and Moochie.

Authors' Note: We had some requests to continue, so here's another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I take all the blame. -Prairie

Fleeting Thoughts Chapter 2

Mothers' Day 2011

Gil Grissom filled a glass with ice cubes and lemonade as he surveyed his pregnant wife through the kitchen window. After his decision last Mothers' Day, he had given his notice, moved back to the States, and began working on the baby that he and Sara so desperately wanted. Despite being nearly 40, Sara had become pregnant in early November even though both parents had expected a bit more of a struggle. Their baby was due July 4th.

Sara took a home pregnancy test the week before Thanksgiving and had surprised him Thanksgiving morning with the news that they were expecting. His mind floated back to the two of them sitting down for a quiet holiday dinner and the eagerness in his wife's eyes as she handed him a gift she pulled from under the table. It was a small, shirt-sized box wrapped in kiddy paper. He raised an eyebrow at Sara and she pursed her lips, trying to suppress a smile.

He carefully divested the gift of its wrapping paper and raised the lid off of the plain white box. Nestled inside a cushion of tissue paper was a pale yellow onsie with the words "I have the world's best Daddy" embroidered across the front. His hands shook so hard that the tissue paper in the box rattled and he placed it on the table before making three attempts with his shaking hands to pick up the tiny piece of clothing in the box. He finally managed to grasp it on the fourth attempt and raised it up so he could get a better look at it. Swallowing convulsively, he looked up at his wife with teary eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, her lips quivering with emotion. "I took three tests just to be sure." She grinned. "You're gonna be a daddy."

"Come here," he told her, pulling her into his arms with the onsie still clasped tightly in one hand. After a kiss that curled his wife's toes and took his breath away, he pulled back and placed a chaste kiss on Sara's forehead. "I love you so much," he had murmured against her soft, pale skin.

He was drawn back to the present by the sound of the ice tinkling in the glass. Sara continued to sit in the backyard on the small covered glider he'd bought her for Mothers' Day this year. He told her that she could sit outside with the baby when the weather was nice and teach him or her all about the outdoors. He and Sara had decided not to learn the sex of the baby; they wanted to do things the old-fashioned way. Heading outside with his wife's lemonade, Gil bent to give her lips and handed her the glass.

"I hate to tell you this," she smirked, "but now I have to go to the bathroom, but I can't get up off of this thing by myself." She had become increasingly awkward over the last few weeks now that she was in her seventh month of pregnancy.

He grinned. "Just don't sit here when I'm not home." He helped her to her feet and watched her waddle inside to the bathroom. He thought Sara was the most beautiful pregnant woman he had ever seen.

He had just reentered the kitchen and was thinking about making some sandwiches for lunch when Sara began calling frantically from the bathroom.

"Gil! I'm bleeding!"

His heart began pounding against his ribs and his stomach churned acid as he hurried down the hall. He found a tear-stained Sara sitting on the toilet, her underwear and a piece of toilet tissue covered in bright red blood.

"Not now," Sara moaned. "We can't lose our baby now."

"Come on, Sara," Gil encouraged. "We need to get you to the hospital." He helped her into the car, called her doctor who promised to meet them there, and then drove at a frightening speed weaving in and out of the traffic to get them to the hospital in record time.

Sara clung to Gil's hand the entire time she was being examined. Hearing the baby's heartbeat during an ultrasound and seeing the tiny being move around on the screen did little to calm her worries. She kept expecting the doctor to tell her any minute that their baby was dying.

Her doctor entered the room, looking over test results. Gil gripped his wife's hand tightly and sat next to her on the bed, stroking her hair back from her forehead with his free hand.

Then the doctor looked up at them. "I think we're dealing with a case of placental abruption. Basically, the placenta begins to separate from the wall of the uterus. In your case, things look to be getting pretty severe. I want you on complete bed rest until the baby comes. If we deliver now, the baby's lungs won't be fully developed. Every day we can keep the baby in the womb counts at this point."

Sara clutched Gil's hand. "Will our baby live?"

The doctor smiled and patted Sara's leg. "Your baby is just at the beginning of the seventh month. We need to give this child as much time as we can to mature in the womb. If you stay on bed rest and follow doctor's orders, I'm very hopeful that things will be fine."

Gil slid his arm around Sara's shoulders. "We'll do everything you tell us to do," he reassured the doctor. "We love our baby." Sara nodded in agreement and wished with all her heart that her baby could hang on until July.

To Be Continued….Your turn, Moochie!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Moochie and Prairie don't own CSI, although we sure wish we did.

Fleeting Thoughts on Mother's Day

Chapter 3

Sara's Doctor issued last minute instructions as Sara and Gil prepared to move Sara home for the duration of her enforced bed rest. "Remember, Sara, no getting up except for bathroom needs. Change your position as often as possible and do the leg exercises I showed you in order to avoid bedsores. Also, keep a close watch on weight gain. Reduce your caloric intake if you start gaining more than 2 ½ lbs a week. And peace and quiet above all. Any problems of any kind, call 911 and use the ambulance to get here. I know this all sounds very scary, but I've successfully brought several of these situations to a very happy ending and I don't expect it to be any different for you. This will be a caesarian delivery because of the placental separation issue, but except for that, I anticipate a healthy infant."

Sara nodded and Gil bundled her into the wheelchair for the trip to the car.

Several months earlier, Gil and Sara had sold the condo and purchased a lovely old hacienda, adobe home about 10 miles outside Las Vegas. It had 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, an enclosed entry patio, swimming pool, and 10 acres of land. It had some "fixing up" it needed, but Sara and Gil had taken one look and knew they were home. (They weren't worried about the school system, as they knew they'd be sending their child to either The Meadows School or Butterfield Academy, where Cat had sent Lindsey). Fortunately, the master bedroom and a guest bedroom were in a side wing on the main floor, so stairs were not going to be a problem.

Turning onto their street, they were very surprised to see numerous cars parked in the areas around their home. Upon entering, they were shocked to see all of their old friends sitting in the living room. Seeing Gil and Sara, Jim Brass stood and then embraced Sara. "It will be all right, Cookie. It really will. I hope you don't mind. I asked everyone to join use here for a few minutes before we get you to bed. We've completed a rotation list so that someone will be here at all times during the day and any other time Gil has to be away from the house. You are going to be spoiled, pampered, cocooned, entertained, fed, and assisted in every way for the next two months. And there's no point in saying no, young lady, because this is going to happen," Jim intoned in the manner of a stern father lecturing his child.

Sara's eyes filled with tears. "I'm not going to say no. I'm just going to be grateful for each and every one of you."

And so, for the next month and a half Sara was coddled day and night. But being in bed 24/7 gets on a person's nerves. And Sara was definitely getting antsy and grumpy. The total inactivity was almost enough to make her scream in frustration. There was one little break from being bed-bound. Sara knew that Nick, Greg, Cat, Lindsey, and Jim were helping Gil finish the nursery. While she was consulted as to colors, no one would tell her the theme of the décor, or any real details. Everyone said it was to be a surprise. It was driving Sara crazy. After the umpteenth time someone told her it was going to be a surprise she muttered under her breath, "The only surprise is that you're all being such asses about this." Sara jerked when her husband's voice came from the direction of the door. "And you deserve to have your little ass spanked for that uncharitable comment." Gil chuckled. "Okay, Momma-to-be, it's time. Nick's going to carry you down the hall to the nursery."

As Nick carried her into the nursery, Sara gasped in amazement and utter delight. Nick seated her in the nursing rocker and Sara was able to really take it all in. It was the fantasy nursery of the century. Done in the theme of cartoon bugs and butterflies, it was alive with swirling color and fluttery movement. A line of alternating, hand-painted, adorable bugs and butterflies flew among vines and flowers as a ceiling border, while the walls were painted in alternating pale green and yellow stripes. Additional bugs and butterflies flew or crawled down some of the stripes on each wall, in a random manner. The furniture was a gorgeous pale green wicker. It was absolutely perfect for either a boy or a girl. The crib had solid sides and did not have a drop down side. Instead there were three crib mattresses inside to diminish how far down the parent had to stoop to put the baby down. As the baby grew, the mattresses would be removed to give the infant more room.

Every imaginable item that a newborn might need had been provided; from the changing table (solid top, wicker sides and drawers) to nursing rocking chair, to lamps; plush toys; mobiles; carriage; stroller; car seat; cloth diapers; diaper pail; wipes; creams; baby powder; newborn clothes; bibs, onesies; hats; blankets; sheets; towels; swinging chair, and baby monitor. In one corner there was even a "baby runner."(looks like a little screened tent on small wheels. Moms go running and push it ahead of themselves. Hey, it was a really big room, LOL!) Sara started sobbing. It was overwhelming. Cat handed her several Kleenexes and when she could speak, Sara profusely thanked them all.

After that little break, it was back to bed for more interminable hours of boredom and discomfort.

Sara had gotten out to her doctor during all this time for her checkups and ultrasounds. Each trip had taken a physical toll on her, but all was well. She had even managed not to gain more weight than the Doctor advised.

On Saturday morning, June 18, 2011, a few days more than two weeks before her original due date, Sara woke at 1:30am. The bed was wet and Sara was momentarily mortified. "God, I've wet the bed!" And then she was hit with a cramp that was nothing like she had ever experienced in her 39 years of life. She hadn't taken Lamaze classes since she knew it was going to be a Caesarian delivery and she now regretted it. She waited, and five minutes later, the pain hit her again, like a freight train hitting a Mini-Cooper.

"Gil! Gil!" She literally screamed in his ear.

"Sweet Jesus, Sara, what's the matter?"

"Baby, Gil, baby, NOW, NOW, NOW!"

"Holy ****!" was Gil's reply. He made the call to 911, guided the EMTs to Sara, called the obstetrician (and Jim and Cat), and drove behind the ambulance to Desert Palm Hospital.

Bedlam ensued. All the divergent, interested, parties converged at the same point. Grissom's Chaos Theory went into overdrive. Greg almost choked on his steak when Cat called. Nick fell off a step stool at home and broke his wrist when Jim called. Doc Robbins started to have an asthma attack and Judy had to scramble to find his inhaler when notified by Greg. Ray cut himself, painfully, with his razor when shaving after Doc called him. SuperDave sprained his ankle jumping out of bed when Doc also called him. Vartann was involved in a fender-bender on the way to the hospital after Cat notified him. Dave Hodges and Wendy gave up their plans to go to the biggest Space Quest Convention of the year after SuperDave called them. Henry Andrews tripped down his front steps and busted his lip after Hodges called him. Archie, Bobby, Lindsey, and Lily went back to sleep. No one called Conrad Ecklie.

Nick and Henry arrived at Desert Palm ER, to be patients for the next two hours. Everyone else haunted the maternity ward waiting room.

As soon as she was whisked upstairs, Sara was evaluated and rushed into Delivery Room 4. Dr. Mackenzie and an entire neonatal surgical team were waiting.

Sara's blood pressure was of some concern, but Dr. Mac decided to proceed, based on the fetal monitor information. Gil was positioned right next to Sara's head, with a view into the overhead mirror. The operation began at 2:01am. At 2:14am Sara and Gil watched Dr. Mac bring forth Justin Daniel Grissom, 6lbs. 9ozs., 22 inches long. He screamed his tiny little lungs out. You could just imagine him thinking, "Hey man, IT'S COLD OUT HERE!" He was immediately tested and given an APGAR score of 10. Once in a warming blanket he was presented to his parents, both of which were pretty close to senseless with joy. They had to relinquish Justin for a little while so NICU could make sure he had no breathing problems. Sara was attended to, including removing the offending placenta, and then allowed to go to her room for a much-needed period of sleep.

When Gil delivered the news to those waiting in the maternity waiting room a riotous noise was heard. The head nurse had to ask them to tone it down.

A week later, most of the gang stopped by at various times during the day. Everyone oohed and ahhed over Justin. Around 2am Gil was awakened by the baby monitor. He heard Sara cooing to the baby. She had gone to nurse him. Gil slipped out of bed, padded down the hall and quietly widened the opening of the nursery door. Sara was rocking in the wicker chair, Justin at her breast, her eyes closed and smiling so very sweetly. Gil had never seen anything more beautiful, more miraculous, in his life. Sara opened her eyes and what Gil saw there, well, there's isn't any description for that.

FINIS


End file.
